Press Release: Catering staff undertake their first successful day of strike action and received much support from the community.

Catering staff at Altrincham College have today taken the first of six planned days of strike action after Achieve and Learn Trust pressed ahead with proposals to remove a catering assistant post and change the contractual hours of the remaining catering assistants. Further strike action is scheduled for Wednesday 9 September, Thursday 10 September, Tuesday 15 September, Wednesday 16 September and Thursday 17 September 2026.

Today’s strike follows growing concern that the Trust is reducing the capacity of the in-house catering team at the very moment when school food provision should be treated as essential. Altrincham College’s own information to families stresses that free school meals provide a nutritious and balanced meal supporting healthy growth, wellbeing and concentration, and explains that eligibility for free school meals is expanding from September 2026 to include all children in households receiving Universal Credit.

Government-published school data records 973 pupils on roll at Altrincham College, with 257 pupils eligible for free school meals — 29.7% of pupils. With eligibility set to widen, NEU Trafford believes the school should be investing in a stable, properly staffed catering service, not cutting the number of staff preparing food for pupils. The NEU has requested up to date figures, which have not been received.

The union says the Trust’s financial priorities demand serious scrutiny. Catering workers are being asked to accept redundancy risk and imposed changes to working hours while money is being found elsewhere, including for changes to the canteen servery and ever inflating top level pay for Trust execs.

Members have also raised unfairness that members of the Senior Leadership Team can themselves access free meals at a cost of £9750 annually, while the lower-paid staff who prepare food for pupils aren’t entitled to, and they are the ones facing job cuts.

NEU Trafford has challenged whether the Trust has demonstrated a genuine reduction in catering need. The union believes the proposals risk leaving fewer workers to absorb the duties of the deleted post, increasing pressure on the remaining team and weakening the school’s ability to provide the consistent, hot, allergen-safe and nutritionally balanced meals pupils need.

Feedback from members yesterday, on the Wednesday before the first strike day, took a concerning turn with some members being asked to attend unplanned meeting with the Senior Leadership Team without the offer of any NEU support. Leaving staff feeling intimidated and anxious.  

Statement from James Starnes, NEU Trafford Branch and District Secretary:

“This dispute is about far more than a spreadsheet. Today, catering staff at Altrincham College have taken the first day of lawful strike action because the Trust is still pressing ahead with cuts and contract changes. Altrincham College tells families that free school meals support healthy growth, wellbeing and concentration. That is exactly why it is so wrong to cut the catering team at a school where nearly 30% of pupils are already recorded as eligible for free school meals, and where eligibility is set to expand. The Trust needs to explain its finances openly. It cannot credibly plead financial pressure when money is being spent elsewhere. . Enough is enough when it comes to the stripping back of services that are so fundamental to the day to day running of the college and pupil wellbeing, especially against the backdrop of Free Schools meals for SLT members.

College management now needs to focus on getting round the table with NEU representatives to resolve this dispute and not singling out individual members with undue pressure. The NEU takes seriously any attempt to intimidate our members, and we know members from across the college will stand shoulder to shoulder with their colleagues in the catering department to ensure their voice is heard”

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Note to Editors:

·          The National Education Union stands up for the future of education. It brings together the voices of half a million teachers, lecturers, support staff and leaders working in maintained and independent schools and colleges across the UK, to form the largest education union in Europe.

·          It is an independent, registered trade union and professional association, representing its members in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.

·          The National Education Union is affiliated to the Trades Union Congress (TUC), European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), and Education International (EI). It is not affiliated to any political party and seeks to work constructively with all the main political parties.

Local contact details:

James Starnes, Branch & District Secretary of Trafford Branch – Email: james.starnes@neu.org.uk

National:

Press Office direct lines: 020 7782 1589 / 020 7380 4706

Out of hours: 07918 617466 / 07879 480061

Switchboard: 0345 811 8111

www.neu.org.uk
www.facebook.com/NationalEducationUnion
www.twitter.com/NEUnion

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